Former ESPN host hypocritically calls network a ‘political lobbying firm’ after Ted Cruz appearance

Former ESPN personality, and one of the most politically divisive sports personalities of our lifetime, Jemele Hill, and countless liberals on social media are losing their minds over the fact that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was invited as a guest on ESPN’s “College GameDay” to have a discussion with host Rece Davis about the bipartisan “Save College Sports Act,” which he co-authored.

Hill posted on X, “Did not know ESPN had become a political lobbying firm.”

The lack of self awareness is astounding. Hill hosted a show on ESPN called SC6 with another woke personality, Michael Smith, in which they discussed divisive political ideologies, mainly focused on race, even going as far as promoting Black Lives Matter.

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On July 12, 2016, Hill and Smith discussed four police officers leaving a WNBA game after Minnesota Lynx players wore Black Lives Matter shirts. Hill argued that demanding “accountability of police officers who commit unjust actions” was not equivalent to disrespecting police.

ESPN itself had Hill moderate its August 2016 “Athletes, Responsibility and Violence” town hall, which focused specifically on athletes, guns, violence and law enforcement.

In 2017, Hill made numerous inflammatory, awful comments about police, President Donald Trump, and conservatives. Hill claimed the “policing & judicial system are institutionally racist,” endorsing the idea that law enforcement needs reform.

Hill also echoed and agreed with Colin Kaepernick’s statements about comparing cops to the “slave patrols” that enforced discipline on pre-Civil War plantations.

Hill’s post on Twitter calling Trump a “white supremacist” also caused ESPN to release a public statement distancing themselves from the employee’s rhetoric.

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ESPN has also overtly lobbied for Democrat policies. 

In 2022, former ESPN personality, Elle Duncan, who is now unfortunately the face of Netflix’s sports programming, protested Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill (The Florida Parental Rights in Education Act) live on air. Duncan was upset that the bill would restrict classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for kindergarten through 3rd grade, stating, “We understand the gravity of this legislation and also how it’s affecting so many families across this country, and because of that, our allyship is going to take a front seat, and with that, we’re going to pause in solidarity,” said Duncan.”

That kind of lobbying has no business in sports. It has nothing to do with sports. It was overtly politically divisive. The same cannot be said about Cruz and the “Save College Sports Act.”

Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during a roundtable discussion at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Don’t forget this either: in 2023, ESPN celebrated Lia Thomas, a male who stole records, opportunities, and trophies from real women, during Women’s History Month. It was definitively divisive and politically partisan.

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The list goes on and on.

The problem is, Hill is so lost in her woke ideology, she doesn’t know how much of a hypocrite she is. She is willfully ignorant to how ESPN has been a mouthpiece for Democrats, especially over the last six years.

Jemele Hill speaks onstage during 56th NAACP Image Awards Benefit Concert at Pasadena Convention Center on Feb. 22, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Also, “College GameDay” hosted Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2025 during its visit to the University of Pittsburgh. Hill had nothing to say about that. Why? It doesn’t fit her narrative.

All in all, no matter what side of the political aisle you sit on, or how you feel about Cruz, him joining “College GameDay” to discuss the “chaos” college sports is going through because of a lack of regulation on NIL, the transfer portal, and more, it is not divisive or politically partisan like Hill and ESPN has been over the years.

Many of the people in the crowd who booed and those online freaking out about this need to get over themselves.